["Your ambition... your vision could never be this small."]
["Unifying the Vidyadhara under the Alliance was just one step in your plan. To you, the Vidyadhara are merely useful tools."]
["Your true goal is to use the Vidyadhara as bargaining chips—forcing the Alliance to hesitate in moving against you while compelling them to cooperate."]
["You hold a blade in one hand and gold in the other."]
["If the Alliance chooses the blade—symbolizing 'force'—they risk fracturing the coalition, even sparking civil war. The Abundance Emanators would laugh themselves to death."]
["If they choose the gold—symbolizing 'profit'—everyone wins."]
["The Abundance falls; you ascend to 'Permanence' as an Aeon; the Xianzhou Alliance gains an Aeon's patronage; and the Vidyadhara solve their reproduction crisis once and for all."]
["Of course, this isn't something a few military officers can decide—even if they're generals at the pinnacle of their ranks."]
["Unable to fight yet unwilling to retreat, Jing Yuan and the others found themselves trapped in excruciating awkwardness."]
[In the end, you gave them an out.]
["To show sincerity in our cooperation, I'll remain in the Scalegorge Waterscape until you reach a decision," you said calmly.]
[Jing Yuan exhaled inwardly. Had the stalemate continued, he wouldn't have known how to end it.]
[Still, seeing your unwavering confidence, he couldn't resist adding:]
["You seem certain the Alliance's leadership will accept your terms."]
["The Xianzhou are pragmatists. They sought immortality by building the arks; turned to the Hunt to escape the Abundance; allied with the Foxians against the Borisin; partnered with the Vidyadhara to suppress Abundance ruins... Shall I go on?" You smiled.]
[Jing Yuan's brow furrowed. The Alliance's history was long—too long, littered with messy compromises. If they tolerated the Vidyadhara Elders' scheming, why reject an Emanator of Permanence? The outcome was clear.]
[With that, Jing Yuan and the Cloud Knights withdrew, your proposal far beyond his authority to address.]
[This matter rivaled the historic "Five Dragons' Exodus" pact. A high-level summit was inevitable—generals, marshals, the Ten-Lords Commission, and the Six Chariots would all convene.]
[After dismissing the Vidyadhara and the Denizens of Abundance, only you and Lingsha remained.]
[Lingsha trembled like a wounded animal, staring at you with shattered trust.]
[She'd never imagined her closest companion had concealed so much. The mentor she revered had deceived her most profoundly. It was as if she was meeting the real you for the first time.]
[All her words condensed into three:]
["Why?"]
[Your gentle smile didn't waver, but your reply plunged her into an abyss:]
["Because admiration is the farthest distance from understanding."]
[The blade didn't pierce her flesh—it stabbed her heart.]
[You turned and left without looking back, leaving Lingsha collapsed on the ground.]
[Events unfolded exactly as you predicted.]
[After internal power struggles, the Alliance accepted your terms.]
[Had you only controlled the Luofu's Vidyadhara, hardliners might've sought your elimination. But becoming Permanence's Emanator changed everything.]
[Before you, the Vidyadhara revered Huanquan. To demonstrate goodwill, the Alliance made her an Emanator of the Hunt, bestowed the title of "Wave-Taming General," and granted Fanghu autonomy.]
[Now, as Permanence's sole Emanator, your status eclipsed even Huanquan's. The Fanghu Vidyadhara—and Huanquan herself—grew ambiguous in their loyalties.]
[The Alliance had underestimated the Vidyadhara's obsession with "Permanence." It wasn't just their roots—it was their species' survival.]
[Especially when they learned you could, like the IPC's Preservation Emanator "Diamond," grant ten individuals "Permanence's authority," restoring their reproductive capacity as in the Dragons' era.]
[No longer a distant dream, the Vidyadhara's future became tangible. Deliberately leaked, this news ignited the entire race. You were their new hope—their leader.]
[Now, any move against you meant war with all Vidyadhara. Even extremists wouldn't dare risk civil war. And if they did, others would silence them.]
[You'd also left the Alliance an exit ramp.]
[You'd stripped Yanting's Dragon-Honor powers but spared her life. As for the Luofu Vidyadhara and Abundance cultists? Let's be honest—the Denizens thrived because the Six Chariots turned a blind eye, even enabled them.]
[Pursuing this would implicate half the Alliance's elite. Some lines couldn't be crossed.]
[As for your past lives'... medical experiments on Xianzhou corpses? Not only were no traces left, but even if exposed, the Vidyadhara's rebirth doctrine shielded you: "The 'me' of a past life is not the 'me' of this one." Past sins died with each reincarnation.]
[After endless debates and backroom deals, the Alliance agreed to collaborate.]
[Thus, the only casualty was Yanting.]
[One night, you sensed movement and flung back the covers.]
[There lay Lingsha, gazing up innocently as always.]
[You sighed. "You—"]
["The Vidyadhara population keeps declining," she interrupted cheerfully. "Now that we can reproduce again, we must act quickly. Teacher should lead by example~" She winked.]
[You hesitated.]
[Suddenly, she clung to you. "If you say I don't understand you, then I'll cling until I do!"]
[After a pause, you pinned her beneath you.]
[Fine. Tonight, you'd play the role of Xu Xian*!]
[...]
[After the storm passed, you watched Lingsha sleep, your expression icy. A flick of your fingers scattered shimmering powder over her nose and mouth—undetected by the slumbering woman.]
[A woman in love is reliable... but hearts change. You trusted only yourself. This was her "insurance."]
[If her loyalty never wavered, it would never activate.]
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